Sunday thoughts on Georgia Football victory in Orange Bowl

Georgia Football cruises to a 63-3 victory over the Florida State Seminoles. There was not much to take away from this game. The Dawgs went out there and decided to show why they should have been in the playoffs. Florida State showed that they have culture issues. 

Everyone can say the Dawgs starters were beating up on FSU's 3rd string, but that was not the case. By the time the 2nd quarter rolled around, the Dawgs had their back-ups in and outscored the Noles 30-0. 

Georgia players bought into playing in the Orange Bowl, and FSU quit and pouted for three weeks about not getting into the playoffs. The Dawgs had every right to do the same as the Noles and pout because they were left out of the playoff and were the best team in the country all year. The Dawgs chose to prove it with their pads. 

Kirby Smart’s comments in his post-game press conference spoke volumes to me. 

"“... people need to see what happened tonight and they need to fix this. It needs to be fixed. It’s very unfortunate that they, who has a good football team and a good football program, are in the position they’re in.Everybody can say it’s their fault and it’s their own problem, all right, and everybody can say we had our guys and they didn’t have our guys. I can listen to all that. But college football has got to decide what they want, and I know things are changing. I know things are going to change next year. You know what, there’s going to still be bowl games outside of those. People got to decide what they want and what they really want to get out of it because it’s really unfortunate for those kids on that sideline that had to play in that game that didn’t have their full arsenal, and it affected the game 100 percent”."

- Kirby Smart

Something has to be done because the game became a joke early in the second quarter. But instead of focusing on the negative, let's focus on the positive. One, Georgia showed it was one of the best teams in the country. This team was extremely special, and the 2024 team could be even better. When you look at the guys coming back and coming in to play for the Dawgs, this ‘24 team could be up there with the ‘21 and ‘22 teams. I would not just say that to excite everyone; I believe the Dawgs will win the national championship next year. 

The other positive of this game is that Georgia’s culture was on display for the nation. Kirby Smart has built something at Georgia that I think none of us have seen in our lifetime as Georgia fans. The big bowl game wins and the record over the past four years would indicate that, but last night also showed that. 

Think about all those guys who will be drafted in the NFL, and they played in this game. In a bowl game that now the media deemed meaningless. Also, consider Brock Bowers and Amarius Mims, who were too hurt to play this game. Maybe that was not 100% true, but they were on the sidelines pulling for their teammates. 

The culture Kirby Smart has built at Georgia will allow Georgia to succeed until Smart decides to stop coaching. The reason that Georgia is one of the best programs in college football is because of its culture. That was my biggest takeaway from this game. 

The Dawgs might not achieve history with three straight titles, but they showed the rest of college football that they will stick around for a while. The question is, how many can the Dawgs win before the window closes? I guess we will find out soon enough. 

Everyone can make excuses for FSU all they want. Georgia had about the same number of guys that were gone because of portal or injury, and they went out there and played hard in a “meaningless bowl.”  

When I write about college football not being in a good place, last night showcased why I write the things I write. I am worried about the sport as a whole, not just Georgia football. If FSU went out there at full strength and beat Georgia, I would have tipped my hat to them and moved on to 2024, which I already have. But because of the disaster last night, I am worried about the direction of the sport. 

So, as Kirby Smart said, college football has got to decide what they want. But for now, I know that Georgia football wants to be elite and will be at the mountaintop for a little longer.